A few weeks ago iduring football training a teammate asked the meaning of my tattoo, which is a symbol / character of the Chinese zodiac , and he also asked, with shyness on his voice, If I knew that the character was written in the wrong direction. At that time I could only smile slightly and explain what is the meaning of my tattoo in ” Mirror Mode “

A tattoo that should be two

There are many things that you share when you have been named as your grandfather , you will share nicknames , respect glances and the occasional confusion when I someone input my name in any database. But something you do not expect to share (but that always fascinated me ) is that we share the same Chinese Zodiac sign : Taurus / Ox / Niu /牛.

The truth is that even if I never had the opportunity to meet him, I always heard stories of how he was and how his life helped to mold other family members that now I admire. To share this small detail, which always has been an intangible sign of a connection that could have been but never were… my first tattoo . Either was character or the letter R haha.

” Mirror Mode “

The definition of mirror mode is very simple, in some video games when you finish all the normal levels the game present you a new mode where the entire screen is reversed ( as if reflected in a mirror ) and the difficulty of the game increases slightly. This type of mode even if it is similar to the “normal game”, always cause more trouble because the player is not playing based on reactions and instincts but he plays based habits.

The debt of a promise

And that is how I got my first tattoo, the idea was to have two characters on my back . Symbols of each generation , a character that represents that connection and finally that one of them being the reflection of the other , even if the new reality is a bit more difficult.

In my first session they asked what part I wanted to have done first, I decided to do the one with the character in mirror mode , at the end I thought it would be more fun to start with the most difficult level in the beginning.